〜か何か（かなにか）

About

The ～か何なにか pattern is a combination of the か particle (in this case, "or"), and 何なにか ("something"), and is used to express "or something". ～か何なにか attaches to a noun or casual form verb and marks it as a possibility, while also indicating uncertainty.

Often, ～か何なにか is used by the speaker to indicate a lack of conviction regarding a given statement.

～か何なにか is fairly casual in tone and is most commonly used in casual/polite conversation.

～か何なにか can be abbreviated to ～かなんか in spoken, casual situations.

～か何なにか attaches to nouns and casual form verbs.

E.g. あの人ひとは、社内しゃない文書ぶんしょを他社たしゃに漏もらしたか何なにかで、クビになったそうです。 "That person was fired because they leaked an inter-company document or something."

E.g. バスケの試合中しあいちゅうに転ころんだかなんかで骨折こっせつしたらしいよ。 "Apparently, they fell or something during the basketball game and broke a bone."

E.g. ピザか何なにかを持もって行いこうか？ "Should we bring pizza or something?"

Summary

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  The ～か何なにか pattern is used to express "or something"

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  ～か何なにか attaches to nouns and casual form verbs

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  ～か何なにか can be abbreviated to ～かなんか in spoken, casual situations